Applicant's Guide to Public Interest Information

Applicant's Guide to Public Interest Information

 

Law 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest gives citizens the possibility to request from public institutions information concerning their activities or resulting from their activities, regardless of the medium or the form or manner of expression.


Please make sure that before requesting information of public interest from the ASF, you are in possession of it. Each public authority has its own public information structure, so if the data you are looking for is held by another public body, you should contact them. This saves your time in the first place!


A. What is public interest information?
As specified in Law 544/2001, information of public interest is any information concerning the activities of or resulting from the activities of a public authority or public institution, regardless of the medium or the form or manner of expression of the information.

B. What information of public interest can the SFA provide?

Access to information of public interest is provided ON OFFICE or ON REQUEST.

Information on the activity of the SFA for which you do not have to make a request are:

  • The regulatory acts governing the organisation and functioning of the Financial Supervisory Authority;
  • The organisational structure of the institution, the tasks of the departments, the operating programme of the institution, the schedule of hearings of the members of the ASF Council;
  • Names and surnames of the persons in the ASF management;
  • Name and surname of the person(s) responsible for the dissemination of public information;
  • Contact details of the SFA: name of the institution, address of the head office, telephone and fax numbers, website and e-mail address;
  • Legal sources of income of the SFA;
  • ASF's own programmes and strategies;
  • List of documents of public interest;
  • List of categories of documents produced and/or managed, according to the law;
  • How to appeal against the decision of the ASF, in case a person considers that his/her right of access to the requested public interest information has been infringed.

This information can be accessed on the website of the ASF or requested directly from the Communication and Interinstitutional Relations Service of the institution.

Please note that, in the spirit of Law 544/2001, you cannot invoke this law to ask the ASF to do research for you, to analyse data or to create new documents to respond to a request.

 

C. What information is exempt from open access?

Exemption of these categories of information from open access is made for reasons of national security, to ensure public safety and order, to protect individuals, to ensure fair competition, etc.

The following information is exempted from open access:

  • information in the field of national defence, public security and public order, if it is classified by law;
  • information relating to the deliberations of the authorities, as well as information concerning Romania's economic and political interests, if it is part of classified
  • information, in accordance with the law;
  • information on commercial or financial activities, if their publication would infringe intellectual or industrial property rights and the principle of fair competition, in accordance with the law;
  • information on personal data, in accordance with the law;
  • information concerning the procedure during the criminal or disciplinary investigation, if the outcome of the investigation is jeopardised, confidential sources are revealed or the life, physical integrity or health of a person is endangered as a result of the investigation carried out or in progress.
  • information relating to judicial proceedings, if its disclosure would prejudice the fair trial or the legitimate interest of any party to the proceedings;
  • information the publication of which prejudices measures for the protection of young persons.


D. How to make a request for information of public interest?

 

To obtain information of public interest other than that communicated ex officio, you have the following possibilities:

1. You can contact verbally the Communication and Interinstitutional Relations Service of the ASF. The information will be provided to you on the spot, if available. If this is not possible, you will be directed to submit a written request.

2. Written requests may be in paper form or electronically (by e-mail). When drafting your request, it is preferable to use a standard request form, which is available on the Institution's website or from the Communication and Interinstitutional Relations Service at the Institution's premises.



E. Where will you request information of public interest?

The request can be:

- addressed verbally to the person responsible for public information within the Communication and Interinstitutional Relations Service of the SFA;
- submitted directly to the ASF Registry;
- sent by post to the address: Splaiul Independenței nr. 15, sector 5, postal code 050092, Bucharest;
- by fax, to the following numbers:

     Insurance Sector: 021.659.60.51
     Financial Instruments and Investments Sector: 021.659.60.51
     Private Pensions Sector: 021.659.62.55

- by e-mail: info544@asfromania.ro

 
F. When and how do you receive the answer?

The time limits laid down by law for providing a written reply are as follows:

- 10 working days, if the information of public interest requested by you has been identified within this timeframe;
- if the information requested takes longer to identify, you will be notified within 10 working days and the actual reply will be sent to you within 30 working days;
- 5 working days for sending the refusal to provide the requested information and the reasons for the reply.

If you wish, you can also request to receive the reply by e-mail. The SFA has the necessary IT infrastructure and will send you the requested data by electronic mail, if available in electronic format.

If, following the reply received, you request additional information, this request will be treated as a new petition and the reply will be sent within the deadlines mentioned above.



G. Fees

Access to information of public interest is free of charge, in the sense that you will not have to pay for the services to search and identify the information you require. If you want copies of certain documents containing information of public interest, you will have to pay for copying services. Payment for these services will be made at the cashier's office of the SFA, which is obliged to issue you with a receipt.

H. Complaints

If you have not received any response to the request submitted to the ASF or if, through the response received, you consider that you have been infringed in your right of access to information of public interest, you can submit an administrative complaint, according to the model you can find on the ASF website or at the Communication and Interinstitutional Relations Service of the institution.

The complaint must be registered at the ASF Registry within a maximum of 30 days of becoming aware of the institution's refusal to provide you with the requested information. The fact that you have not received a reply within the legal deadline is also considered as a negative reply.

Your complaint will be examined and, if it proves to be justified, you will receive a reply within 15 days, in which you will be provided with the information of public interest initially requested and the measures that have been taken against the ASF employee who is guilty of this situation.


I. How and in which cases can you go to court?


If, following the reply to your administrative complaint, you still consider that your right of access to information of public interest has been violated, you can take legal action.
 The complaint must be lodged with the administrative disputes department of the court in whose territorial district your place of residence is located or in whose   territorial district the ASF is based. The complaint must be lodged within 30 days of the expiry of the legal deadline for receiving a reply to your request.
 The court may oblige the ASF to provide you with the information of public interest requested and to pay moral and/or patrimonial damages.
 The court's decision is subject to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The Court's decision is final and irrevocable.
 Both the complaint and the appeal are heard by the court in urgent procedure and are exempt from stamp duty.

Template request for information of public interest                Download

Administrative complaint form                                                  Download
(in case of a negative reply)                                         

Administrative complaint form                                                   Download
(in case of no reply)

 

Download here the full content of Law 544/2001 (Romanian) Legii nr. 544/2001 privind liberul acces la informaţiile de interes public -  consolidată la data de 3 mai 2017.

 

ANNUAL REPORTS

Read here  RAPORTUL de evaluare a implementării Legii nr. 544/2001 în anul 2019

read here  RAPORTUL de evaluare a implementării Legii nr. 544/2001 în anul 2018 

Read here RAPORTUL de evaluare a implementării Legii nr. 544/2001 în anul 2017